Contour pillow



Sept. 10, 1968 Filed Dec. 13, 1966 E. LA GROSSA CONTOUR PILLOW Fig.

2 Sheets-Sheet 1 E l/nar LaGrossa IN VEN TOR.

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Sept. 10, 1968 E. LA GROSSA 3,400,413

CONTOUR PILLOW Filed Dec. 15, 1966 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 Elinor LaGrassa I NVE N TOR.

' 3,400,413 CONTOUR PILLOW Elinor La Grossa, Chicago, Ill. (1764 Oakton St., Des Plaines, Ill. 60018) Filed Dec. 13, 1966, Ser. No. 601,510

. 2 Claims. (Cl. -338) ABSTRACT OF THE DISCLOSURE A contour pillow-having an upper side formed with a center depression having a flat bottom wall, and upwardly and outwardly curved side and end walls blending in streamlined fashion with the upper side and being formed either with a substantially flat conventional underside or -with an underside having a similar. depression, the fiat bottom walls of the depressions being in back to back.

but such pillows, as are found in the prior art, are designed especially for comfort and muscular relaxation or other purposes.

A primary object of the present invention is to provide a contour pillow for particular utilization by women so as to obviate'suffering pain from the pressure of curlers on their heads while trying to sleep. a

While the contour pillow of the present invention has been particularly designed as a beauty aid to alleviate the. problem of sleeping by women while wearing head curlers, the contour pillow can also be used in the sick room at home or in hospitals for alleviating pressure on the head, in the event of injury or headache.

A further important object of the present invention is to provide anextremely simple and inexpensive pillow.

which can be provided with an exterior underside design that is not materially different from conventional pillows or can be provided with an underside having a depression that is formed in exact structural resemblance to the depression in the upper side.

A still further important object of the present invention is to provide a pillow having at least one side thereof formed with a center depression having a flat bottom wall and upwardly and outwardly curved side and end walls blending in streamlined fashion with the modified side and which, while particularly intended for utilization by women during sleeping with head curlers, has therapeutic value and which can be formed in a very inexpensive manner for use with standard bedding, pillow covers and the like.

These together with other objects and advantages which will become subsequently apparent reside in the details of construction and operation as more fully hereinafter described and claimed, reference being had to the accompanying drawings forming a part hereof, wherein like numerals refer to like parts throughout, and in which:

FIGURE 1 is a top plan view of a pillow formed in accordance with the present invention;

FIGURE 2 is a longitudinal, vertical sectional view, taken substantially on line 22 of FIGURE 1;

FIGURE 3 is a bottom plan view of the pillow of FIGURE 1;

FIGURE 4 is a top plan view of a modified form of pillow in accordance with the present invention; and

FIGURE 5 is a longitudinal, vertical sectional view, taken substantially on line 55 of FIGURE 4.

Referring now more particularly to the accompanying drawings and initially to FIGURES l-3, the pillow, generally designated by the reference numeral 10, may be formed from any suitable material, preferably multi- 3,400,413 Patented Sept. 10, 1968 ICC cellular foam rubber or plastic, but may be formed from feathers, latex or can also be of the pneumatic type, that can be inflated to the desired pressure. In the latter event, the pillow 10 can consist solely of a hollow body which is adapted to be inflated by air under pressure or to be blown up, in any suitable manner, so as to achieve the shape and configuration, shown in FIGURES 1-3.

Considering the formation of the pillow 10 from multicellular plastic or foam rubber, the pillow includes a body portion 12, which is rectangular in top and bottom plan view, asshown in FIGURES 1 and 3. The pillow body portion 12 has an upper side 14 and a substantially fiat conventional underside 16 which is formed so as to resemble, in its use and in its appearance, a conventional pillow and is substantially fiat throughout most of its longitudinal and transverse extent but which has its side and end edges upwardly curved so as to mate with the sides 18 of the pillow.

The upper side 14 of the pillow is formed with a centrally disposed, rectangular depression or concavity 20, related to the rectangular over-all planar shape of the upper side 14 of the pillow. The depression 20 is formed centrally intermediate the side edges and end edges of the upper side 14 of the pillow and includes a substantially flat bottom wall 22 which lies well below the surface or plane of the upper side 14. The flat bottom 22 of the depression or concavity 20 is provided with upwardly and outwardly curved or arcuate sides 24 and ends 26 which flare out and join with the upper side 14 in a very streamlined fashion, as can be appreciated from a consideration of FIGURES 1 and 2. The flat bottom wall 22 of the depression or cavity 20 lies well above the underside 16 and is of a material extent, longitudinally and transversely, of the upper side 14 so as to receive the head of a user, particularly the head of a woman while wearing curlers. The womans head, with the curlers, will rest easily in the depression or concavity 20 relieving pressure from the pillow to the curlers since the curlers will hang free, as can be realized from a consideration of FIGURE 1.

It is to be particularly noted that the depression or concavity 20 is of greater longitudinal extent than transverse extent, considering FIGURE 1, and that the bottom wall 22 is substantially flat with the side and end walls 24 and 26 of the depression contoured or rounded into a streamlined blending structural engagement or relationship with the boundary edge portions of the upper side 14 of the pillow so as to allow smoothness for the head of the person while the persons head is disposed on the upper side of the pillow, either during sleeping or resting.

While the contour pillow 10 has been particularly designed to relieve discomfort for women while sleeping with curlers in their hair, it is obvious that it can be utilized to great advantage for supporting the head of a person in the relief of various headaches and pains, such as earache, headache or any injury to the head where the head cannot stand the pressure of ordinary pillows.

As can be appreciated from a consideration of FIG- URES 2 and 3, the underside 16 is substantially flat so that the side 16 can be used as a conventional pillow for sleeping purposes and the depression or concavity 22 will offer no impediment to such use since the thicknes of the pillow is such that a persons head resting on the underside 16, when it is uppermost and in use and lying above the depression 20, will receive the same support as the persons head would receive from a conventional pillow, whether formed from multi-cellular foam rubber or plastic material or formed from fibrous or similar material or from feathers or the like.

It is to be particularly noted that the depression or concavity 20 is of rectangular configuration and that the 3 bottom wall 22 is substantially fiat with the side and end walls of the depression or concavity flaring upwardly and outwardly in arcuate or curved configuration so as to mate in a streamlined fashion with the boundary portions of the upper side 14 of the pillow. Further, it is to be noted that the underside 16 is substantially flat, though its opposing ends and sides have a slight curvature to give'an oval and streamlined end and edge effect to the pillow in consort with the outer side portions and end portions of the top wall 14, as shown clearly in FIG- URE 2.

In FIGURES 4 and 5, a modified form of pillow 30 is disclosed, wherein the pillow 30 is formed from a body portion 32 having an upper side 34 and an underside 36. In such instance, the pillow 30 is a twin contour pillow in that the upper and lower sides 34 and 36 are formed with identical depressions or concavities 38 and 40, which are structurally identical to the depression or concavity 20. Thus, the depression 38 has a flat bottom wall 42 and the depression 40 has a fiat bottom wall 44 which bottom walls are in facial contact and relationship. The pillow 30 is shown in FIGURE as being comprised of two independent sections which have adjoining inner faces 45 that are securely affixed together by an adhesive 46, though other suitable joining means, such as sewing, heat sealing or the like may be provided. And, in this respect, it is to be understood that the pillow 30 can be molded in one piece from suitable plastic or rubber latex material so that instead of the two separable sections, a one piece pillow may be realized, so that the sections are to be considered in integral association, whether defined as individual joined sections or as an over-all one piece pillow construction.

In considering FIGURE 5, it is to be realized that the walls 42 and 44 are of substantial thickness so that, whether the upper side 34 or the underside 36 is utilized, the walls 42 and 44 will offer substantial but yieldable support and the same objective can be realized, as is possible with the depression or concavity 20 in the pillow of FIGURES 1 through 3.

In the form of FIGURES 4 and 5, it can be appreciated that the same concept as is presented in FIGURES 1 through 3 is followed through, namely, that the depressions or concavities 38 and 40 formed in the upper side 34 and underside 36 are expansive in the longitudinal direction of the pillow 30 and narrow in the transverse or width-wise direction of the pillow 30, whereby the depressions 38 and 40, akin to the depression or concavity of the form of FIGURES 1 through 3, are rectangular and the opposing end walls and opposing side walls of both of the depressions or concavities 38 and 40 are curved or formed in arcuate outgoing relationship with respect to the boundary portions of the upper and lower sides 34 and 36 of the pillow.

The fiat horizontal bottom wall 22 of the depression or concavity 20 of the form of FIGURES 1 through 3 and the identically flat surfaces of the bottom walls 42 and 44 of the form of FIGURES 4 and 5, is of importance, as is the central placement thereof and the longitudinal extent or expansion thereof, with regard to 4 I the over-all rectangular planar dimensions of the pillows 10 and 30. Also, carrying out this important aspect of the pillows 10 and 30 are the provision of the outwardly and upwardly curved side and end walls of the depression or concavity 20 or the depressions or concavities 38 and 40, so that the head of a user, particularly a woman with curlers in her hair, can be nested in a most comfortable fashion within the depressions or concavities, with the curlers falling back and to the side of the horizontally flat bottom walls of the concavity or depression 20 or the concavities or depressions 38 and 40 and permitting the womans head to be relieved of pressure from the curlers while permitting the persons head to turn in any way, during natural sleeping movements.

The foregoing is considered as illustrative only of the principles of the invention. Further, since numerous modifications and changes will readily occur to those skilled in the art, it is not desired to limit the invention to the exact construction and operation shown and described, and accordingly all suitable modifications and equivalents may be resorted to, falling within the scope of the invention as claimed.

What is claimed as new is as follows:

1. A pillow comprising a body portion of substantially rectangular shape having opposed parallel ends, opposed relatively longer parallel side edges, an upper side and an underside and being provided on one of said sides with a central depression of substantially rectangular configuration and including a fiat bottom wall and upwardly extending side and end walls paralleling and being inwardly spaced from said body portion side edges and ends, said depression having a greater length than width with the side walls thereof paralleling each other for supporting engagement with spaced portions of a head positioned transversely across the depression, and with the end walls thereof paralleling each other and spaced from each other so as to allow for a natural turning of a supported head between the end walls while maintaining the spaced support thereof, said fiat bottom wall of the depression in the 'upper side lying well below the upper side but spaced above the underside a considerable distance of the vertical thickness of the pillow, and the side walls of the depression, along at least the upper portions thereof, being convexly curved upwardly and outwardly from the bottom wall.

2. The pillow of claim 1 including a duplicate depression in the other of said sides, the bottom walls of said depressions being outwardly spaced from each other.

References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 2,940,088 6/1960 Boos 5-338 3,124,812 3/1964 Milton et al 5--338 3,141,179 7/1964 McLean 5-337 3,276,046 10/1966 Capelli 5--338 BOBBY -R. GAY, Primary Examiner.

A. CALVERT, Assistant Examiner. 

